Jack Wolf | Horse Racing Free Tips

Despite Churchill Ban, Key Owners Keep Their Horses With Baffert

With Churchill Downs having ruled that any horse that remained in the Baffert barn as of Jan. 29 would be ineligible to run in the GI Kentucky Derby, Monday was decision day for Baffert's owners. In 2022 and 2023, several moved their horses into the barn of former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen prior to the Derby, but that may not turn out to be the case this year. At least four owners who have Derby candidates with Baffert have said their horses will remain under the care of their Hall of Fame trainer.

Owners Jack Liebau, Tom Ryan and Mike Pegram told the TDN that they will not be taking their horses away from Baffert, even though that means they cannot run in the Derby. In addition, Ed Nevins, the director of the Baoma Corp, the owner of the highly regarded 3-year-old Nysos (Nyquist), told Horse Racing Nation that the undefeated colt will also remain in Baffert's care.

The TDN reached out to other owners who have Derby prospects with Baffert, including Amr Zedan, but, at deadline for this story, had not received a response from them. Baffert has had little to say about his situation and was unavailable for comment Monday.

The New York-bred Wynstock (Solomini) is entered in Saturday's GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn. The winner of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity, he is co-owned by Liebau and Dr. Edward Allred, the owner of Los Alamitos.

“When Wynstock won the Los Alamitos Futurity, Dr. Allred, who is the majority owner, said that the horse was not going to go to the Kentucky Derby because he thought Churchill was treating Baffert unfairly,” Liebau said. “I guess we will look at the Preakness, but who knows what the status of the horse will be by Preakness time and how good the horse is. Dr. Allred calls the shots.”

Ryan is the managing partner of SF Bloodstock, which partners with Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, a group that is among Baffert's biggest owners.

“Our horses will be in their own stalls tomorrow morning, and that says it all, doesn't it?” said Ryan.

Jack Wolf, the managing partner of Starlight Racing, added: “Tom Ryan is the managing partner and I agree with the decision he has made, which is we're not changing trainers. We just feel like it is the right thing to do and not just from a loyalty standpoint. We have nothing against Tim Yakteen. We think he is a very good trainer and this has nothing to do with him. It can be very destructive to these horses at this young age to go to a different barn and change conditioners, change their feed, change everything.”

Pegram, who has had horses with Baffert ever since he switched over to Thoroughbreds and has a Derby candidate this year in Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso), responded to a text from the TDN, writing: “We're doing the same as we have the last two years, staying with Bobby.”

Nysos has won his two starts by a combined margin of 19 1/4 lengths and may prove to be the best of Baffert's 3-year-olds.

“Unfortunately, our country is devolving into a nation where excluding the top competition is considered a legitimate way to win,” Nevins told Horse Racing Nation's Ron Flatter. “Bob Baffert is our trainer, and we stand with him and any decisions he makes regarding our horses.”

After Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for the medication betamethasone following the 2021 Derby, Churchill banned Baffert from its tracks. The suspension initially was for two years but Churchill later amended that and included 2024 to the ban. In addition, in 2023, it gave owners until the end of February to move their horses from Baffert in order to be eligible for the Derby. This year decision day was moved up by one month.

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Ahoy Matey! Pirate Romps In Debut at Saratoga

On paper, it looked like Pirate (Omaha Beach) had a lot going for him in Saturday's first race at Saratoga, a $105,000 maiden special weight run at 5 1/2 furlongs. A half-brother to GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road), he sold for $350,000 at Keeneland September, had a bullet four-furlong work leading up to the race and hailed from the mighty Todd Pletcher barn. So it was hardly a surprise when he cruised to a three-length win, covering the distance in 1:04.89 for the partnership of Harrell Ventures, LLC and Starlight Racing en route to being named a 'TDN Rising Star'. Bet off the board, he paid $2.70.

“I thought Pirate ran fantastic,” said Jack Wolf, the managing partner and founder of Starlight. “You never know, but I think Todd expected him to run well. I don't know what the figure will be, but I know Todd thought going into the race that he was a good horse. And now he's the winner of a maiden special weight race at Saratoga.”

Breaking from post one under Irad Ortiz Jr., Pirate was quick out of the gate and quickly took control of the race. He was pressed early by Arteta (Take Charge Indy), shook that one off entering the top of the stretch and then had plenty left when eventual runner-up Just Steel (Justify) made his run.

“We thought he would win,” Wolf said. “He ran to the way he trained. Irad has been on him in the mornings. I probably won't commit suicide over the next two or three weeks.”

The GI Hopeful S. looks like a logical spot for Pirate to make his next start.

“Todd makes all those decisions, but wouldn't you think the Hopeful would be next, especially with the way he won?” Wolf said. “It certainly looks like a possibility.”

Starlight is among a large ownership group that owns National Treasure.

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Jack Wolf Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

As the managing partner of Starlight Racing, Jack Wolf is a part of a team that can always be counted on to have several prospects for the GI Kentucky Derby. That's the case again this year as the trio of Starlight, SF Racing and Madaket Stables will have horses in Saturday's GII San Felipe S., the GIII Gotham S. and the John Battaglia Memorial. To discuss those runners and Starlight's philosophies when it comes to trying to acquire Derby candidates Wolf was the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland.

As was the case last year, the Starlight horses have been transferred to trainer Tim Yakteen, who is taking over for Bob Baffert. Baffert, due to a ban imposed by Churchill Downs, is not eligible to run horses in this year's Derby.

“We sort of went down this road last year and it seems to be working,” Wolf said. “The transfer seems to be working a lot more smoothly than last year. Last year, Bob was also serving a suspension (from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission). We're fortunate to have Bob working with us and trying to continue on to have these particular horses be eligible for the Derby points. Bob, (SF Racing Managing Partner) Tom Ryan and Tim have done a great job working together to try pull this off up to this point.”

Among the four Starlight horses that will be running in Derby preps this weekend, Wolf wasn't shy about listing who he believes is the best. It's San Felipe starter National Treasure (Quality Road), who is coming off a third-place finish in the GIII Sham S.

“I got on him as a Derby horse a couple of months before the end of the year,” Wolf said. “I just like how things are setting up for him, hopefully, for the next three races. I just really like the horse. He's not peaking too soon. Bob Baffert always says you get Derby Fever in January and February. But you don't know what you have until April comes around. So even though this horse may have a little case of second-itis, I think from a pedigree standpoint and the way he's been set up for the San Felipe he's our best hope. That's who I have my money on.”

Starlight, SF Racing and Madaket were among the first major owners to pool their resources at the sales, which mas become a growing trend in the sport. That means more competition for the trio when it comes to acquiring expensive horses, but Wolf said he believes his team can outperform their rivals.

“We've got better bloodstock agents and better operation than the other ones,” he said. “But, yes, they're buying a lot of stock. Mike (Repole) and Vinnie (Viola) put a little bit more money into it than we do. Maybe we put a little bit more money into it than the group Brad Cox has assembled. I like those guys. It's fun to compete with them and have at it.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and Bill Finley took a look back at the win by Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GII Rebel S. and trainer Keith Desormeaux's knack for developing modestly priced sales horses into stars and a looked ahead to this week's major races, including the GII Fountain of Youth S., the GII San Felipe S. and the GI Santa Anita H. In other news, the team discussed the reinstatement of controversial trainer Rick Dutrow and a TDN column by Sid Fernando that reasons that SGF-1000, the drug Jason Servis has admitted to using on his horses, is not a performance-enhancing drug.

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Frank Brothers To Retire

Frank Brothers will retire from his roles as a bloodstock agent and a member of Keeneland's yearling inspection team, he announced Friday morning in a press release. “I'm fortunate that my health is good,” he said. “I'm 76 years old and quite content to take a seat in the viewing area and watch the game for a while.”

After training horses from 1980 to 2009, Brothers moved into his current role of selecting horses for a few clients before ultimately partnering with Starlight and StarLadies Racing for the past 13 years. During this time, he has also served as a member of the Keeneland Yearling Inspection Team for the Keeneland September Sale.

“It's just time for me to move on. For a little guy, the training game was very good to me but it was time for me to make that transition back in 2009,” said Brothers, who won 2,291 races over the course of his career. His best horse, Hansel, was a multiple Grade I winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and the 1991 3-year-old champion. Others in his barn included Grade I winners Secret Hello, Arch, Oath, Madcap Escapade, First Samurai, and the multiple graded stakes winner Pulpit.

“I was fortunate to have trained horses for some great people and then equally fortunate when Jack and Laurie Wolf asked me to join their team as bloodstock agent when I retired from training,” he said. “We've had a great deal of luck together—you'd always like to win more, but we did pretty good.” For Starlight Racing, Brothers recommended the purchase of Grade I winner Shanghai Bobby, the 2012 Champion 2-year-old, along with graded stakes winners Algorithms, Eskenformoney, Neolithic, Cutting Humor, and Jouster, among others.

Brothers was also on the Starlight Racing/SF Racing team that selected several graded stakes winners, including Grade I winners Charlatan, Eight Rings, and 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.

“Frankie's the best and we're going to miss him,” said Jack Wolf, Starlight's managing partner. “He feels like family to us at this point. But I respect his decision to retire and I can't blame him—it's a tough game.”

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